Page 22 of Hot Firefighter

Aidan’s waiting for me on one knee, a box in his hand. As I gape at him, he opens it to reveal a sparkly ring that I can’t see clearly because my eyes are rapidly filling with tears.

Oh. My. God.

Am I dreaming?

“Holy shit,” I gasp, making people laugh while I desperately try to get control of myself. I’m shaking, unable to believe this is really happening.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Aidan chuckles from where he kneels in front of me.

“Trying to figure out if I’m dreaming,” I admit with a teary laugh.

Aidan gives me a smile that only makes my knees weaker. “Now you know how I’ve felt since I met you,” he says, and Imelt. “Autumn, sweetheart, I am the luckiest man alive to be able to call you mine.”

“I’m the lucky one,” I argue, shaking my head.

“Let him speak, honey,” my dad calls out from behind me.

I laugh, slapping my hand over my mouth to shut myself up. My dad’s right, I need to let Aidan do his thing, but it’s so hard not to just launch myself at him and make him put the ring on my hand already.

“I knew from the moment I saw you that you would belong to me,” Aidan says, grinning up at me. Damn, he looks so good on his knees. He looks likemine. I love how possessive he is of me, and I feel just as possessive of him. “I want you to be mine forever. My heart and soul are yours already, sweetheart, but I want to make it official. See you in a sparkly white dress.”

I nod in silent agreement that I want that too. I want everything. To be his love, his wife, the mother of his kids. I wantus.

“Autumn, my beautiful girl, will you marry me?”

I take that as permission to finally speak. “As if I could ever say no to you,” I say in a rush. “Of course, I’ll marry you, Aidan. Yes!”

Everyone around us erupts in a cheer, but I barely even notice. All I see, all I hear and feel and can focus on is Aidan.

“Give me your hand, sweetheart.”

I step forward, arm outstretched. Aidan’s warm hand takes my left one, and he slides the silver shiny ring onto my finger.

A perfect fit.

He stands quickly, and I practically climb him like a damn tree, desperate to kiss and hug and touch him, to show him just how much I love him. My love, my Aidan, my future husband. I’m crying but they’re all happy tears, and I taste the salt water on my lips when I kiss Aidan eagerly.

“Do you like the ring, sweetheart?” Aidan murmurs, adjusting me so I can actually look at my new ring.

I blink away the last of my tears and stare wide-eyed at it. A beautiful white gold band with a mind-bogglingly pretty princess-cut diamond. I’ve literally never seen anything so gorgeous, except Aidan of course.

“I love it,” I whisper in utter awe. “It’s perfect. This is perfect. You’re perfect.”

We laugh against each other, our teeth clattering together with our clumsy eagerness, in our own little bubble while our family and friends celebrate around us.

“I love you, sweetheart. I can’t wait for you to be my wife.”

I clutch him even closer, feeling the pounding of his heart against mine. “I can’t wait for you to be my husband,” I tell him brightly. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.”

“My girl,” he murmurs, burying his face in the crook of my neck and kissing me.

I arch into him, trying to remember that we’re still in the middle of a party and that I can get him nakedlater, giggling.

“Yours,” I agree. “Always.”

EPILOGUE

AUTUMN

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